Goodbye 2015, Hello 2016!!

Hello everyone!

Somehow it is time for The Crawford end of year update! I know I say this every year but I can't believe another year has come and gone. My Papa used to say that each year goes a little faster and we are realizing how prophetic his words are!

This has been a year filled with a lot, some good and some not so good, but as  always, The Crawford Family came out stronger than ever.

2015 Crawford Highlights

⦁ Made some amazing friends in Simsbury!

⦁ Applied for Shannon's 10 year green card!

⦁ Tilly endured paralysis due to spinal myelitis but made a miraculous recovery!

⦁ Celebrated my first Mother's Day & it was just perfect!

⦁ Shannon and I celebrated meeting 5 years ago (May 2010) and had our first night away from Jack (Nana and Pop Pop watched Jack and he did great! )! Shannon surprised me and we went to New York City! We retraced the steps from our first moments, hours and days together! It was so romantic and a beautiful way to reflect on our relationship. We also squeezed in a trip to FAO Schwarz for Jack Man before they closed their iconic location!

⦁ Survived our first major house project ... renovating our breezeway! Shannon and my Dad did an AMAZING job together!

⦁ Shannon celebrated his First American Father's Day and Second Australian Father's Day!!!

⦁ Aunt Tiffany visit us and met Jack for the first time!!

⦁ Celebrated Jack's First Birthday with a Dr. Seuss Birthday Party! Our closest family and friends were here to be a part of such a special day! The world would be a better place if all the world was loved the way Jack Francis is!

⦁ Jack has started walking and talking ... He is quickly becoming a big boy!

⦁ Spent our first summer getting to listen to music from the downtown venue and even got to see fireworks ... all from the luxury of our back deck!! Not a bad way to spend your summer nights!

Surprised Shannon with Counting Crows tickets!

⦁ Took Jack for his first family trip to The White Mountains!

⦁ Jack Trick-Or-Treated for the first time. He was a bat in the afternoon and Daniel Tiger in the evening!! He was the cutest!!

⦁ Jack watched his first ever movie in the theater ... A Peanuts Movie! He did such an amazing job and kicked off the Peanuts Theme for Christmas 2015!!

⦁ Hosted the first ever Crawford Christmas Cookies, Cocoa & Cartoons! Jack's friends got to decorate cookies, wrote letters to Santa, watched cartoons and got goody bags ... It was too cute!!
⦁ Hosted a neighbor Holiday Breakfast for the phenomenal people that we are lucky enough to call our neighbors and friends!

⦁ Added a new member to the Crawford Clan ... Mr. Linus! We found him at Petco, which hosts cats from a local animal shelter. There was just something that told us he needed to be a member of the family and we did just that! We love that our family's love just simply grows!

⦁ Celebrated our first Christmas in Connecticut! Last year was spent in Vermont so it was really exciting to host Christmas this year!! Jack received beautiful presents from all of his family and friends. He is one lucky little boy and not just because of his Christmas haul!

⦁ Celebrating our 3rd Wedding Anniversary TODAY! I am in awe every day that this is my life and that not only were Shannon and I were lucky enough to find one another but we made it against all odds. I am a true believer in everything happening for a reason and I know that handsome Aussie was on that balcony at that precise moment so we could have our love story ... Which I am so thankful for each day! I truly love him a little more each day and the life and family we have created!

Resolutions

I love The New Year because I love the idea of starting anew! This year, I feel like I have some great resolutions and am excited to share ... It may help me to stick to them when people really know what they are!

⦁ Limiting my Facebook time. I want to be present and constantly checking Facebook does not help me achieve this. It has become such a habit to check Facebook any time I pick up my phone ... So, I am going to try to seriously cut back! Facebook is a total vice but I am hoping to limit it in the New Year!

⦁ Cooking one new meal a week. I can be a creature of habit so I need to stir things up ... Pun intended hahaha!

⦁ Continue my exercise and healthy eating routine (excluding December when we were all very sick and the mainstay of our food was butter, sugar and salt with all my baking lol!) I am finally a few pounds less than my pre-baby weight which I am so proud of! I want to simply maintain that with healthy living!

⦁ Work on my Mindfulness. I taught this in my classroom and I know how beneficial it is! I am going to attempt to find a simple meditation/yoga program that works for me and help to keep me present!

• Putting positivity into the world. If this year has taught us anything, it is there is a lot of terrible things happening in the world but I truly believe there is far more good that exists. So, if everyone does good in their own way, it will help combat all the bad we are inundated with!

All of these resolutions are not only for me but for the benefit of my amazing family! I know how important modeling good habits are. Each day my aim is to be a little bit better than I was the day before. There are days I definitely fall short of my goal but I know that I am always working towards betterment for all of us! They make me want to be the best version of myself I can be and I want to be that and more for them.

So, there you have it! Full on year but again, we have come out stronger than ever and I think that is all you can ask for. We have high hopes for 2016, we think some pretty amazing things are going to happen and we know that no matter what it has in store for The Crawford Clan, we will face it together! Thank you for being a part of our lives!!

FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS, HAVE A HAPPY & HEALTHY NEW YEAR!
Goodbye 2015, Hello 2016!!

Love,
Katie, Shannon, Jack, Tilly & Linus